Sleepover
by Estrea
Summary: Exactly what the title says. Sleepover at Suzuka's place! More FateNanoha fluff.


And I'm back with more Fate/Nanoha-ness! Anyone miss me? XD

Disclaimer: I do not own Nanoha. I want to own Fate, but I don't own her either. Oh well, I'll settle for a PVC model. Hehe.

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**Sleepover**

It was never formally discussed. It was just there, as if it had been there right from when they first met. That much was certain, as neither could recall such a conversation concerning that particular topic. No, they never discussed themselves in that context, though they conversed in just about everything else. There had seemed no real need to discuss the matter perhaps, both of them simply accepting the easy camaraderie they shared.

It was not odd to them that no one else could seem to achieve the same level of understanding with either one of them as the other was able to. The comfortable partnership between them extended beyond their work----it permeated every aspect of their life. No area was spared, it was as if they moved as one unit, taking silent cues from each other and acting accordingly in any situation.

The familiarity they shared seemed almost startling to some of their friends at first, considering that the two had not actually _been_ friends for all that long. Their connection and closeness suggested a friendship of many years, though in reality only mere months had passed from their fateful first meeting. And of course, as the years passed from then onwards, their bond grew only stronger, to the point that even if they were physically apart, they were never truly separate in spirit. And when they were reunited from any separation, it was as if neither had even left the other to begin with.

No one questioned their closeness. They were merely best friends who had faced death and danger together, so it was natural for them to forge bonds beyond the kind that ordinary best friends could. They didn't even think about it themselves, so why would anyone question them?

Certainly, they were simply best friends. Nothing more to it. Not their tendency to constantly remain in close physical contact whenever they were in the same room, nor their naturally gravitating to each other the moment one of them appeared in the same area as the other. No, nothing to it at all. It was impolite to suggest anything otherwise, after all.

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The party, as it was, was pretty much over. It hadn't really been an all-out party of alcoholic proportions, which was a blessing, since most of them were technically underage for drinking. Hayate had been somewhat disappointed by that fact, but cooler heads had won that particular argument (basically, Signum, with Fate helpfully backing her up), so the party had remained thankfully sober, much to Signum's profound relief. After all, the previous party hadn't endowed her with the most pleasant of memories concerning the relative alcoholic tolerances of her master and her assorted comrades.

In case anyone was wondering, they had been celebrating the successful completion of another Lost Logia case, and the previous party had sort of spontaneously taken place at Amy's suggestion, basically on the premise that "since everyone's here, let's party!", and there had really been nothing else pressing calling them away, so everyone agreed.

Or was forced to agree, in Chrono's case. Clearly, he had grave misgivings about the whole situation, probably due to his foreknowledge that Amy had somehow procured several bottles of sake and was planning on sharing them. Unfortunately, Amy managed to corner him into agreeing, mostly by unleashing the three aces of the Time-Space Administration Bureau on him to change his mind. Nanoha and Hayate had rather gleefully steered him back towards the room the group had unceremoniously comandeered for the impromptu party, while Fate was cheerfully explaining to her trapped brother about the importance of spending more time together with family and friends, a speech that was undoubtedly a direct result of Nanoha's teachings. Chrono was not amused, a resolve that quickly faded away during the course of the party.

For sanity's sake, the events of that party will not be disclosed. Needless to say, however, it was not an experience that Signum cared to repeat. She had been the only one out of the whole group who was only marginally tipsy by the end of that "celebration", and thus retained the clearest, albeit slightly hazy, memory of whatever had occured as the sobriety of the assemblage had rapidly faded away. That said though, hangovers were still a bitch, no matter how advanced the medical technology was at the Bureau. Fate had even solemnly extracted an oath out of Signum to have her full permission to use Laevantine on her if she ever displayed an inclination to drink again. Likewise, the pink haired knight requested that the lightning mage to go Jet Zanber on her should she ever show signs of agreeing to another party that involved alcohol. The seriousness of that exchange had only been briefly interrupted by Nanoha moaning weakly nearby, which had prompted Fate to immediately rush to her best friend's side to attend to her.

All in all though, the party this time was fairly tame in comparison. After all, it was with their "normal" friends, aka Suzuka and Arisa, and the absence of certain people (namely, Amy and surprisingly enough, Admiral Lindy) made it easy to quash any suggestions of any other undesirable elements, namely alcohol. Hayate had exhibited a rather interesting relationship with the beverage, and proved that she could, and did, drink everyone (including Lindy) under the table. Of course, it was revealed that she had cheated by using Reinforce in Unison mode, and was thus able to expunge the worst effects from her body. The way everyone had glared at her through their various hangovers the next morning had been most interesting. Even Vita had looked rather vengeful at her beloved mistress, which was saying something. Needless to say, Hayate did not escape fully unscathed.

But back to the aftermath of the current party, which was about a week after the disaster of that other one. The three mages had made it back home after submitting their various reports and going through various other routines before being allowed proper leave from regular duty, at least for a while. Their job being as it was, there was no telling when another emergency would call one of them out to work again. Still, the work was rewarding, and none of them regretted their choice in vocation. It simply made them appreciate more the times of tranquility and semi-normality they shared with Suzuka and Arisa as ordinary high school girls.

Which was why this party was organised in the first place. Or rather, it was a gathering of friends, as it was the beginning of winter break, and since Nanoha and company had a rare "real" leave from work at the same time, Suzuka had suggested a sleepover at her house as it was the biggest and most well equipped. It was not every day that they could just kick back and really relax normally, sans magic and its related personnel. And well, Hayate's knights were not considered as magic-related personnel, even though they had the most claim to that title technically. Hayate saw them as family, and family they were to the rest of them.

They had spent time doing the usual sleepover things, that is, talking, braiding each other's hair, experimenting with makeup, some cosplay (at Hayate's suggestion), and more talking. It was a relief to be able to share their magical experiences while on duty with their civilian friends, well, at least the non-classified information. Keeping secrets from friends was a painful thing, as Nanoha opined while running her fingers through Fate's long silky strands, causing the other girl's eyelids to flutter lazily as she leaned into the touch. Fate was always terribly sensitive with regards to her hair, and she only allowed Nanoha, Arf, Amy and Lindy to touch it that way. It was a matter of trust, in a way, since Fate was rather vulnerable to having her hair stroked and would rather not let others see how kittenish she could get at times.

Regardless, it was a happy reunion for the group of friends. Shamal and Zafira were unfortunately absent as they had been called to stay behind for some last minute work, but Vita and Signum were able to follow their master to the sleepover. It was amusing for the rest to pick on Vita, especially Arisa, who, along with Hayate, took a lot of delight in "torturing" the deceptively young looking girl by dressing her up in a variety of ridiculous costumes. Signum could barely hold back the derisive snickers at that sight, which had prompted an interesting face off between the dimunitiutive Hammer Knight and her leader. Threatening to pound someone into the ground with Graf Eisen would have been a scarier threat if one weren't dressed in a fluffy bunny suit, complete with floppy ears.

In any case, Signum wasn't spared the cosplay treatment either, much to the bemusement of Nanoha, Fate, and Suzuka, as Hayate literally ordered her knights to stand down...before "persuading" Signum to put on one of her creations. Perhaps, Suzuka pondered, it may have been a tactical error to introduce Arisa to Hayate. The two of them could come up with startlingly evil ideas, and whilst Hayate was subtlety personified, Arisa tended to take the direct approach, making the two an interesting combination when it came to pranking.

Speaking of pranking, the most feared combination would have to be Suzuka and Hayate, who both had such sweetly placid exteriors to most people who didn't know them that it came as a surprise whenever they decided to combine forces to pull something off. One could never know if the sunny smiles on the faces of those two didn't hide something...more. It was unnerving, to say the least.

On that topic, Nanoha was pretty much an open book to anyone who knew her. Sure, she could keep a secret, but keeping the fact that she _had_ a secret was somewhat beyond her capabilities. It didn't impair her charm though, since she really didn't have anything much to hide to begin with. On that note, Fate was much the same in her openness and unassuming personality, although the difference was that she _did_ know how to deflect questioning about her secrets in a less obvious way than Nanoha could. Arisa had noted during the sleepover earlier on how Fate had a completely disarming smile that basically cut the ground away from beneath anyone's feet, and observed how the cheerful blond girl often used it to great effect to stun others into insensibility. Obviously, Fate fervently denied any conscious effort on her part to do so, and was backed to the hilt by Nanoha, which in turn prompted Hayate to archly observe how the two danced to the same tune as any couple would, drawing an immediate blush from the aforementioned pair. Suzuka, as usual, had giggled from the sidelines at the antics of her best friends.

The topic had then shifted on to the topic of relationships, which took a distinctly interesting turn as they assessed the relationship status of each of them, barring Vita and Signum, since those two were pretty much unavailable in more ways than one. For Arisa, it was noted that the boys would tend to treat her as "one of them" at times, and only a few had ever approached her in a romantic way, but had been brutally shot down by the rambunctious tomboy, who then sniffed and said that they fully deserved the treatment they got. Suzuka had her own share of admirers, who were attracted by her sporty yet demure exterior, but the lavender-haired girl remained unmoved and almost defiantly single despite all the overtures she got. When questioned, she simply replied in her quiet manner that she wasn't interested in a relationship at that time, which pretty much settled the issue on her part.

As for Nanoha, while she did indeed have her fair share of hormonal male admirers in school, that was hardly the whole point. Arisa and Suzuka had by now found out that Yuuno was really a human boy, and a slip of the tongue by Amy about Yuuno's feelings for Nanoha had led to them (well, mostly Arisa) questioning Nanoha and her relationship with Yuuno. Nanoha, on her part, always gave them her patented "what, are you kidding?" look whenever confronted with that question. The "he's just a friend" excuse came up just about every time it was brought up, and Nanoha showed no signs of changing her position on the matter anytime soon, citing work and a lack of actual interest as her shield.

Vita, upon hearing about that issue, had shot a disbelieving glance at her one-time rival before turning to Signum and asking with a raised eyebrow. "The ferret? I thought he was more her familiar than anything else!" The pink haired knight had blinked before turning helplessly to their giggling master, who chose not to volunteer an answer, leaving Vita to shrug and mutter something (possibly uncomplimentary) under her breath.

Hayate had cheerfully steered the topic onto herself then, probably out of pity for Nanoha, gleefully noting that some of the younger cadets in her division were fairly starstruck over her. That had prompted Fate to quietly note that Nanoha had somehow acquired an entourage whenever they were at headquarters for work, causing Nanoha to blush and to put up some rather pathetic denials, which didn't help her situation at all. Then, Nanoha had rightfully countered that since Fate also hung around her quite often, the stalkers could easily have been after her as well, prompting an adorable blush from the black mage.

It was then that Suzuka had struck in her usual, quiet way, with the revelation that "Fate-chan has a fanclub at school". Everyone had been stunned into silence by that little nugget of information, and Fate had turned an interesting shade of red as she bowed her head shyly, whispering "N-no way...". Arf had chosen that moment to speak up, proudly declaring that it was expected of her Mistress to be so worshipped, which only served to deepen the blush on Fate's face.

Upon recovering from that little surprise, Nanoha had latched onto Fate with a big grin and declared that "Of course, Fate-chan is so cute!", before cuddling closer to her best friend and then half-jokingly said "But she's all mine!". At that point, Signum had worried briefly that her favorite sparring partner was going to explode or something, given how intensely red she had become. Hayate had a mischievously knowing look on her face, and no one else in the room quite noticed when the Kansai girl shared a secretive glance with their host for the evening. Clearly, the two were up to something again. As for what they were up to, no one knew. Maybe it was safer for everyone that way. Some things were better left unknown.

The night had progressed on in more ordinary fashion soon after that, and it was somewhere past midnight when they had decided to retire for the night. Suzuka had wanted to usher them into guest rooms at first, but Hayate had suggested that they all bunk down in Suzuka's room instead, since the place was big enough, and as Hayate cheerfully noted, "It's more like a real sleepover that way". Suzuka had smiled then and asked Farin to bring in extra futons for her guests.

Sleeping arrangements went by smoothly. Arisa shared Suzuka's overly large bed as per usual during their regular sleepovers, while Vita curled up as usual against Hayate, with Signum sleeping right next to them. Nanoha and Fate had their futons side by side, and Arf was happily bedded down on a pile of blankets in her puppy form. They had continued some small talk after the lights were switched off, but they eventually dropped off into dreamland one by one.

Fate couldn't quite sleep yet. Something was bothering her, but she wasn't quite sure what. She had gotten progressively better at understanding herself and others around her, but occasionally she still ran into issues that she couldn't quite figure out. As usual, when she got into these dilemmas, she turned to the one person she could trust to help, or at the very least, share her worries.

_Nanoha?_ She tried tentatively in telepathy, not wanting to wake her best friend if the girl was already asleep. Her fears proved to be unfounded as Nanoha replied almost promptly. _Fate-chan?_

_You're not asleep yet?_ Fate asked quietly , and she could feel Nanoha smile in the darkness off to her left.

_Of course not Fate-chan, how could I?_ Fate blinked in surprise. _What, why...?_

The white mage reached over and unerringly found the hand of her best friend, interlacing their fingers together. _I could feel that you were bothered by something Fate-chan._ She squeezed the fingers lightly in encouragement. _Do you want to talk about it?_

_Ah...um...well...that is..._ Fate was struck rather speechless by the level of empathy they shared again, and then realised inwardly that she had known all the while that Nanoha had not been asleep even after the chit chat had died down, which was why she dared to communicate telepathically in the first place. Had her white angel already been asleep, Fate would never have chanced waking her up, even accidentally. The familiar thread of understanding was still intact, and that thought somehow comforted her immensely.

_Nothing...it's nothing..._ The warmth of Nanoha's hand sent comforting tingles up her arm, and made her feel truly at ease. Whatever that had been worrying at her melted away in an instance, and Fate simply basked in the knowledge that Nanoha cared for her. There was no better feeling than this, Fate decided, knowing that Nanoha was just there for her

_Really?_ Somehow, Fate could feel the warmth not only in the hand caught in her own, but also in the thought transmitted to her. She was about to reply, but was caught offguard when Nanoha somehow managed to wriggle out of her futon and into Fate's. The lightning user's breath caught in her throat as Nanoha embraced her warmly, practically molding their bodies together. Slate blue eyes stared into burgundy, and Fate could barely think clearly as she gazed deep into the eyes of her other half.

_Feel better?_ Fate could have sworn that she saw an impish glint in those blue eyes, but her thought processes weren't functioning clearly enough to connect the dots. She barely managed a nod, and relaxed when she heard a soft chuckle from her beloved partner. Crimson orbs closed with a sigh as soft hands threaded through blond tresses.

Nanoha was smiling as her trusted partner's breathing evened out, but she didn't quite stop stroking Fate's hair. Her Fate-chan looked so adorable in slumber, that she couldn't quite help herself when her lips impulsively brushed the soft forehead in front of her. Fate showed no overt response to that, except to snuggle just a bit closer to the brunette. Nanoha smiled.

_Sleep well, Fate-chan._

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Hayate was the first to wake the next morning, as she was used to getting up early. Careful not to wake the still slumbering Vita, she sat up and stretched, then looked over to the adjacent futons. The sight that greeted her drew an amused chuckle from the Mistress of the Night Sky. _How cute_, she thought, giggling lightly.

A soft thump off to her left made her turn, and she saw a grumpy and still groggy Arisa rub her head from where she had hit the floor. "Fallen off the bed?" Hayate quipped with some amusement as the short-haired blonde growled.

"Shut it Yagami, not now." Arisa was never one for common courtesy when thus rudely awakened. The tomboy looked over Hayate's shoulder to see Fate and Nanoha quite comfortably entwined with each other. She rolled her eyes with an exasperated sigh.

"Really, they can't keep their hands off each other, can they?"

Hayate snorted. "Arisa, that sounded so wrong." The brunette chided half heartedly, though the impish grin on her face gave her away.

Arisa waved a hand dismissively as she fought down another yawn. "Well it's true, isn't it? And quit thinking dirty Haya-chan." Hayate smirked as she looked back at her fellow aces so intimately wrapped around each other.

Definitely true indeed.

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Lol, Arisa's line I quoted direct from A's Sound Stage 01. This turned out fairly fluffy, I'm happy. XD Read and review! 


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